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MILLENNIALS: PART THREE OF A SIX-PART SERIES

Support me but don’t tell me what to doWHO AND WHAT INFLUENCES MILLENNIALS’ CAREER CHOICES? THE ANSWERS AREN’T AS CLEAR-CUT AS ONE MIGHT THINK.


As global organizations compete to hire the best Millennial talent, they often bet big on digital and social media to reach this always-on generation. Is it a well-researched bet?

Interviewing more than 16,000 Millennials across the globe, we asked: What are Millennials’ preferred and trusted sources of career information? And are Millennial parents really so involved in their adult-children’s decision-making?

What we found out may surprise you.

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WHO AND WHAT INFLUENCES MILLENNIALS’ CAREER CHOICES?

• How to reach and influence younger Millennials

• Investigating the role of parents in Millennials’ works lives

• Other sources of influence for Millennials

IMPLICATIONS FOR EMPLOYERS

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A COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH STUDY FROM THE INSEAD EMERGING MARKETS INSTITUTE, THE HEAD FOUNDATION AND UNIVERSUM.

EmergingMarketsInstitute


Logically, global organizations seeking to woo this generation of plugged-in, mobile-savvy young professionals are hyper-focused on ramping up their digital content and social media efforts.

And yet anyone who works in content-related fields will tell you it’s becoming harder and harder to win attention online. Social media sites like Facebook and LinkedIn have become so popular that brands struggle to get their messages in front of coveted audiences. Many reports show brand “reach” (i.e. visibility) on Facebook, for example, declined as much as 50 percent in 2014 alone due to changes in Facebook’s algorithms. Even the most experienced social media experts struggle to be seen online as they compete with a massive

MANY REPORTS SHOW BRAND “REACH” (I.E. VISIBILITY) ON FACEBOOK, FOR EXAMPLE, DECLINED AS MUCH AS 50 PERCENT IN 2014 ALONE DUE TO CHANGES IN FACEBOOK’S ALGORITHMS.

Millennials have grown up with the Internet and on-demand access to information. They are the first generation to come of age using social media. It’s clear based on how Millennials make connections and share information online, they are simply wired to communicate differently than those who preceded them.

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variety of online content (after all, your employer brand content is competing with everything from other brand content, to cat memes and vacation selfies).

Add to that, many organizations take a siloed approach to digital and social media; the marketing division owns technology, talent, strategy and processes quite apart from HR and recruiting. Marketing has experimented with reaching and engaging their audiences online far longer than their peers in HR, but few organizations have broken the barriers that exist

between marketing and HR to share resources and talent.

Should HR and talent leaders focus on playing catch-up? Is winning at digital content and social media the only answer to reach Millennials? (It feels almost like heresy to say otherwise these days.)

We set out to question the conventional wisdom about Millennials. What bothered us in particular is the way many organizations treat Millennials as a homogeneous group, regardless of age or nationality. Yes, Millennials

WHAT BOTHERED US IN PARTICULAR IS THE WAY MANY ORGANIZATIONS TREAT MILLENNIALS AS A HOMOGENEOUS GROUP, REGARDLESS OF AGE OR NATIONALITY.

are in many ways more global-minded than any generation before; they share musical tastes and fashion trends across regions, for example, in a way that older generations never did. Do 25 year-olds in Nigeria share the same ideals as those in Indonesia?” Do Millennials in the Asia-Pacific countries consult parents’ advice to the same extent as those in Latin America? And how can companies make decisions about Millennial talent development without local knowledge of Millennial attitudes?

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Who and what influences Millennials’ career choices?WHERE DO MILLENNIALS TURN FOR CAREER INFORMATION AND ADVICE?

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For all the focus on digital and social media, our research shows Millennials crave something more. In a study conducted earlier this year, we asked university-aged Millennials (i.e. those who have not yet entered the workforce) where they currently access information, and how they would prefer to get information about employers. (Universum Global Communicating with Talent Survey, 2014.)

University students told us the channels they most often use are the employer website (55 percent), career fairs (44 percent) and social networks (42 percent). However, when asked not for actual channels but preferred channels for information, it’s clear that another myth may be busted. Many Millennials don’t crave more social content – but rather face-to-face interactions on campus. The top two preferred channels for information about a potential employer are

employer presentations on campus (41 percent), and career fairs (39 percent). FIGURE 1

We also asked university-aged Millennials which sources of information are most influential. The top pick: getting information from others they know who work or have worked for that particular employer (49 percent). And at the near-bottom of the list: friends, parents and classmates. FIGURE 2

Finally, the degree to which social media figures prominently as a source of information varies by country/region. Millennials from China, France and Switzerland for example are not as enthusiastic about using social networks as their peers from other countries. On average only 23% of Millennials in these countries prefer to use social networks when learning more about employers compared to 42 % globally.

How to reach and influence younger Millennials

With regards to your future career, how important is empowerment to you? What do you understand by it?

IT’S THE FREEDOM OF SELF-DETERMINATION.MALE, GERMANY

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FIGURE 1

IN WHICH CHANNELS DO YOU THINK EMPLOYERS SHOULD INVEST MORE TIME AND MONEY TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOU?

WHICH CHANNELS DO YOU USE IN GENERAL TO LEARN ABOUT POTENTIAL EMPLOYERS

Global

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Actual

Preferred

60.0

PERC

ENT

50.0

40.0

30.0

20.0

10.0

0

Career fairsEmployer presentationson campus

Employer websites Social networks/communities

Lectures/case studiesas part of curriculum

Actual

Preferred


FIGURE 2

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING SOURCES INFLUENCE YOU THE MOST WHEN GATHERING INFORMATION ABOUT POTENTIAL EMPLOYERS?

Global

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50.0

PERC

ENT

40.0

30.0

20.0

10.0

0

Current students from my

school who have worked/

are working at the employer

Professors at my school/

university

Alumni from my

school who have worked/

are working at the employer

Other people I know who

have worked/are working at the employer

My friendsCareer services at

my university

My parents My classmates


In our most recent study, we asked Millennials more broadly (across age groups and countries across the world) who influences their career decisions. One of the claims the study hoped to test was the notion that Millennials are still deeply influenced by their parents.

One of the most enduring stereotypes applied to Millennials is that parents hover over them into adulthood, micro-managing their lives … even attending job interviews in extreme examples. Many employers have bought into this stereotype; in countries such as the US and China, employers host career fairs that include information for parents. Is catering to parents a good idea?

Our research simply does not support the idea that parents have an outsized influence on Millennials’ work lives. FIGURE 3

On the whole, 26 percent of Millennials reported they involve parents in their career decisions, but only 10 percent say parents are “very involved.” Thirty-nine percent disavowed the statement

How important is advice from friends or family when you make choices about your career? Why?

I ASK FOR ADVICE WHEN I HAVE DOUBTS ABOUT THE CHOICES I’M ABOUT TO MAKE.FEMALE, BRAZIL

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Investigating the role of parents in Millennials’ work lives

altogether, saying they disagreed or strongly disagreed that parents are involved in professional decision-making.

Those in Central and Eastern Europe were most opposed to the idea (61 percent opposed) while those in Africa were most likely to involve parents (29 percent very much involved parents).

Yet when asked whether family is a support mechanism, the answers were more parent-friendly. Overall 64 percent say family is a key support to respondents’ career aspirations, and 31 percent strongly agree with the statement. In Latin America this is particularly true (71 percent agree or strongly agree) and it’s least true in Central and Eastern Europe (44 percent agree or strongly agree). FIGURE 4


FIGURE 3

HOW INVOLVED ARE YOUR PARENTS IN THE CAREER DECISIONS YOU MAKE? (VERY MUCH INVOLVED)

By region

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30.0

PERC

ENT

25.0

20.0

15.0

10.0

5.0

0

Africa Asia-Pacific Central & Eastern Europe

LatinAmerica

MiddleEast

NorthAmerica

WesternEurope


FIGURE 4

MY FAMILY IS A KEY SUPPORT TO MY CAREER ASPIRATIONS (I STRONGLY AGREE)

By region

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50.0

PERC

ENT

40.0

30.0

20.0

10.0

0


LatinAmerica

MiddleEast

NorthAmerica

WesternEurope


With regards to friends influencing professional decisions, Millennials’ answers vary widely. Overall only 16 percent say friends have a strong influence on career decisions. FIGURE 5

Looking at influence more generally, Millennials think very differently about the relative power of institutions versus individuals to influence society. In the Asian-Pacific region, for example, more

than half say government has the strongest ability to influence society of the choices given, while those in North America ranked government as least influential (18 percent). Millennials in the Middle East, Western Europe and North America view private business as the dominant force, those in Latin America and Central/Eastern Europe say individuals have the strongest influence. FIGURE 6

Who do you think has more influence in society today – government, private business or individuals?

PRIVATE BUSINESS, AS POWER SHOULD BE MORE EVENLY SPREAD OUT AND NOT IN THE HANDS OF A FEW INDIVIDUALS OR ENTITIES.MALE, SINGAPORE

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Other sources of influence for Millennials


FIGURE 5

HOW MUCH DO YOUR FRIENDS’ OPINIONS INFLUENCE YOUR CAREER DECISIONS? (NOT MUCH AT ALL)

By region

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80.0

PERC

ENT

60.0

40.0

20.0

0


LatinAmerica

MiddleEast

NorthAmerica

WesternEurope

A lot

Somewhat

Not much

A lot

Somewhat

Not much


FIGURE 6

WHO DO YOU THINK HAS THE STRONGEST ABILITY TO INFLUENCE SOCIETY?

By region

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0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Individuals

Private sector (business)

Government

Western Europe

North America

Middle East

Latin America

Central & Eastern Europe

Asia-Pacific

Africa

Non-governmental organizations

Non-govermental organisations

Individuals

Private sector (business)

Government

38.0% 18.0% 8.0%36.0%

54.0% 24.0% 5.0%17.0%

28.0% 27.0% 5.0%40.0%

21.0% 34.0% 4.0%41.0%

27.0% 42.0% 11.0%20.0%

17.0% 42.0% 7.0%34.0%

26.0% 47.0% 4.0%23.0%


Implications for employers

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In our first eBook, entitled Understanding a Misunderstood Generation, we reviewed a string of stereotypes long imposed on the Millennial generation. These included:

• Millennials are interested in leadership positions and expect to advance rapidly in their careers.

• Millennials care more about personal development and work-life balance than traditional trappings of success, such as money and status.

• And the long-favorite: Millennials (over)-rely on friends and family for input on career issues.

Through our research, we wanted to test (a) whether statements such as these hold up to testing and (b) to what extent these ideas hold true across different regions of the globe. Not surprisingly, we found that while certain ideas do indeed tend to be true across regions (e.g. a desire to attain a leadership role), there is a tremendous degree of variability region-by-region, and country-by-country.

Millennials feelings about the role of family and friends in their careers, and their belief in government and/or private institutions to influence change, is no different.

For employers, the findings should awaken their thinking about how to recruit, onboard, and retain

Millennials across different regions. What inspires (and worries) a Millennial in North America is quite different from that which inspires those in the APAC countries.

• Will employers continue to involve parents if so few Millennials say parents have a strong influence (and in some regions, such as Central and Eastern Europe, Millennials seem particularly opposed to it).

• How can employers’ branding support Millennials’ optimism in the Middle East, North America and Western Europe for the private sector’s ability to effect change?

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For employers, it’s critical to identify the areas of talent management that are most affected by these differences. For example, in Africa nearly a third strongly agree that parents are very much involved in career decisions, while in North America only five percent say this is true; career fairs should absolutely account for these differences region-by-region. And recruiters in Central and Eastern Europe, for example, should note Millennials’ modest enthusiasm for working on teams.

Ultimately talent management leaders need to ensure their Millennial-targeted strategies are based on robust country-level research and the preferences of professional cohorts (e.g. understanding how 20-something engineers in Italy prefer to work), rather than perceived attitudes and unfair stereotypes applied to Millennials as a whole.

Finally, employers should ensure their HR organizations understand Millennials are a diverse group, a generation quite unlike the stereotypes we’ve been taught to believe over the last decade.

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WANT TO LEARN MORE? Sign up to receive the full report, Understanding a Misunderstood Generation.

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Our greatest fears We are more different than you think

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Our evolution

You got us wrong! The WHY

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Data for this study was collected mainly through Universum’s proprietary Millennial database, as well as through external panel providers in selected geographic areas. Covering 43 countries, we surveyed 16,637 people between the ages of 18-30 during May to August 2014.As with all surveys not based solely on probability sampling, error estimates cannot be calculated.

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TOTAL 16,637

Region/country Sample size

Asia-Pacific (APAC)

Australia 255

China 1,142

Hong Kong 142

India 1,084

Indonesia 295

Japan 202

Malaysia 279

Philippines 1,252

Singapore 130

Thailand 188

Vietnam 97

Africa

Nigeria 128

South Africa 468

Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)

Czech Republic 69

Poland 244

Russia 321


Latin America (LATAM)

Argentina 110

Brazil 1,036

Chile 825

Colombia 308

Costa Rica 226

Mexico 1,026

Panama 127

Peru 193

Middle East (ME)

Lebanon 54

Turkey 180

United Arab Emirates 89

North America (NA)

United States 1,045

Canada 333


Western Europe (WE)

Austria 142

Belgium 68

Denmark 304

Finland 212

France 440

Germany 550

Ireland 248

Italy 667

Netherlands 280

Norway 186

Spain 451

Sweden 310

Switzerland 236

United Kingdom 695

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